Walk A Mile
by TheEveningStar
Summary: Lily and Sirius are in a potions accident and wind up in each other's bodies! How can they pretend to be each other until the potion wears off?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: A potions accident leaves Lily and Sirius trapped in each other's bodies! How are they going to be able to fool their friends that these two enemies are who they appear to be?**

**Disclaimer: Do you Sirius-ly (ha-ha) think that I own the magical world of Harry Potter? No – it all belongs to J.K. Rowling. **

It was another typical day in Potions.

Sixth year Gryffindors Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin appeared to be hard at work on their potions. Professor Slughorn had them working on various different potions, but even if they weren't doing that well, Slughorn wouldn't have cared all that much. His favorites were Lily Evans and Severus Snape, who both excelled at the class. At the moment the three Marauders were planning to bring Snape down a notch.

They had to wait until Lily wasn't looking – they didn't want her mad at them.

James strolled past Snape's cauldron on his way to the student cupboard and dropped some powdered Graphorn horn into Snape's cauldron. He continued on his way to make it look like he'd done nothing, and so didn't see Snape's potion turn an angry red and start to emit sparks and sputters. Sirius looked up upon seeing Snape back away from his cauldron as Lily moved closer to see what was happening. When the potion hissed, everyone ducked and tried to dodge away, but Lily was too close. Sirius jumped at her, trying to shove her out of the way just as the potion exploded.

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'_Oh my head!' _Lily thought, as she opened her eyes, quickly squinting at the bright light flooding in through the windows. She groaned and a irate looking Madam Pomfrey came into view.

"Stay where you are, Mr. Black. I don't want you further injuring yourself. You know you and your friend Mr. Potter may need to have the Hospital Wing renamed after you considering how often you two frequent my domain."

"What?" asked Lily confusedly. She looked around and saw she was in the hospital wing, but she didn't know why. "Madam Pomfrey, what happened? The last thing I remember I was working on my potion…"

"Well, I'm not surprised," replied the hospital matron, "there was an explosion of Mr. Snape's potion, and you bravely, and somewhat foolishly, threw yourself in front of Miss Evans in an effort to save her. Alas, you were both drenched in the potion, and we are still unsure of the side effects."

Lily sat up so fast the room began to spin. When she had regained her equilibrium she asked, "Why do you keep calling me Mr. Black? What do you mean I saved Miss Evans – I **am** Miss Evans!"

Just then a beautiful redhead shot upright in her bed across the room, took one look at Lily, and screamed.

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"Well," twinkled Professor Dumbledore as he surveyed his two clearly distraught students, "it seems we have discovered what the side effects of the potion are."

Madam Pomfrey chuckled and Sirius shot her an angry glare, which was surprisingly more effective than it would have been in his own body. Despite her petite size, Lily Evans could be quite intimidating, even when Sirius Black was occupying her body.

"Now, now Miss Ev – I mean Mr. Black – there is no need to get upset. The potion Mr. Snape was brewing was not intended to have a shelf life of over two weeks, as it was meant to be ingested almost immediately after brewing. No doubt the potion will wear off within that time frame and you will both return to your original bodies," Professor Dumbledore explained.

Both students looked relieved, until their headmaster spoke again. "In the meantime, I would like you both to refrain from telling anyone about this switch. People might try to take advantage of you two."

Lily and Sirius wore identical looks of shock and horror. _How on **earth** were they going to fool their friends into believing they were each other?_

"See?" Dumbledore smiled, that damnable twinkle going into overdrive. "You are already acting like each other. Now, Madam Pomfrey says you are free to go, but I ask that you take a few moments to learn _everything_ about each other so that you can play your parts accordingly, and then you may return to your house. Have a wonderful day!"

After Dumbledore left, Lily and Sirius stared stupidly at each other for many minutes.

Suddenly Lily ('Sirius') jumped up and grabbed her bag.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sirius asked her in a voice of forced calm.

Lily condescended to answer, "I already know all I need to know about you, Black. All I have to do is act like an arrogant, womanizing (here a frown of distaste appeared on her face for a moment) git for a few days. Oh, and use smaller words than I normally do."

Sirius glared, "And all I have to do is act like a frigid, know-it-all Ice Queen who wouldn't know a good time if it bit her on the bum!"

Lily stood there trembling angrily for a moment and stormed off.

Sirius called after her, "Just remember Princess, we've both got a reputation to protect, so don't blow it!"

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About twenty minutes later Lily was wandering the corridors, still trying to figure out how to deal with this predicament and fuming over Sirius Black's comments.

"Padfoot."

_**How** did that idiot land her in this mess?_ Because she was entirely sure this was his and/or the other Marauders' faults.

"Hey Padfoot!"

_And how was she going to deal with being a **boy** for several days up to two weeks! And not just any boy, that arrogant, self centered, vain –_

"SIRIUS!"

Suddenly, Lily remembered that _she_ was Sirius. "What? Huh?" she looked around, only to find the bain of her existence walking towards her.

James looked at her with puzzled eyes. _That is so cute, like a puppy –WHAT! – Evil thought! Bad thought!_

"What's with you today, mate? I've been calling you for ages."

"Oh, sorry Po – James. I guess I've been out of it since that idiot Si – erm –Evans caused me to get drenched in that potions explosion."

James face darkened immediately. "Come on, Padfoot – you **know** we didn't mean for anyone to get hurt, not even Snivellus, and least of all Evans. She would _never _do anyone harm on purpose. Except maybe me." He mumbled the last sentence so quietly she almost didn't hear it.

_Does Potter really think I would intentionally harm him? _**:Well, you don't exactly make it a secret you dislike him.:** _Yeah, but not that much._

James looked almost forlorn, but he seemed to want to shake it off, so Lily said what she thought Sirius would say. "Cheer up mate, she may come around yet."

James brightened instantly. "You think so?"

Just then a laughing Remus Lupin came up and slung his arm around James' shoulders. "Sure Prongs, just as soon as you deflate that head of yours a bit more."

They all laughed and headed to lunch together.

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In the great hall James looked to Remus, who was looking a bit pale and sad and said, "Three days Moony, than you'll be set for another month."

"Yippee," was all the response Remus could muster.

Lily was puzzled, as she had no idea what they were talking about, but tried to hide it as best she could.

This time it seemed to be James' turn to comfort. "Don't worry Moony – we'll be with you every step of the way." There were nods all around, even though Lily was still trying to figure out what was troubling Remus so much he had to have his friends with him 'every step of the way.'

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Meanwhile in the Gryffindor sixth year girls' dormitory, Sirius was admiring his new body. "I gotta give Prongs credit, he has excellent tastes."

Sirius had spent the better part of the morning pouring over Lily's wardrobe – the majority of which now lay scattered all around her bed – and trying on various outfits. He currently had her dressed in a silky halter-top and denim mini skirt. He couldn't explain _why_ he felt the need to do so – he simply had a compulsive desire to mix and match clothes.

_Oh well,_ he thought, taking another bite of chocolate (he'd discovered Lily's secret stash in her trunk). _Man, that is some good chocolate. Honeydukes sure knows their stuff._

Just then two of Lily's roommates came in. Alice Hart (soon-to-be Alice Longbottom – Frank had proposed in a fit of romantic insanity) smiled.

"Wow Lily – I love that look! A little more skin than you normally show, but no doubt an excellent date look," she said as she stripped out of her uniform, pulling out more casual clothes from her trunk.

Sirius gaped for a moment before remembering he was Lily and turning away. _Frank is one lucky, lucky man._

Sirius decided to have some fun with his new body. "I'm thinking of going down to the common room and test driving this outfit."

Dorcas Meadowes, who had come in with Alice, spied the chocolate Sirius had set down on Lily's vanity and snatched it up before 'Lily' could stop her. "Are you sure you want to run out in a mini right now?" she asked between bites.

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows (Lily's eyebrows!) in confusion. _Why not?_ Suddenly a painful cramp in his stomach nearly caused him to double over. Sirius thought he might be sick, and dashed into the bathroom. Less than a minute later there came a blood-curdling scream.

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Back in the Great Hall the four mischief makers had finished lunch and were slowly making their way back to the common room "Ah! I love free periods!" sighed Peter, talking about where they were going to explore in a few days. 'Sirius' was unusually quiet on the subject. Even Peter noticed.

"Why so quiet Padfoot?" he asked. "Got a girl on your mind?"

Before Lily could think of an appropriate 'Sirius' response, she saw herself come tearing down the corridor, screaming, "I'M DYING!" and heading towards the hospital wing in an _outrageously_ revealing outfit. All of the Marauders looked at each other in confusion and went racing after 'her'.

They caught up with 'Lily' just outside the hospital wing. James grabbed her arm as gently as he could while still keeping a firm hold on her.

"Lily! What's happened? What's wrong?"

"Not _now_, Prongs! I'm hemorrhaging to death!" Sirius cried, wrenching his arm free and dashing into the hospital wing, calling hysterically for Madam Pomfrey.

The Marauders just stared at the doors for a moment.

"Did she just call me Prongs?" asked James in confusion.

Suddenly 'Sirius' burst out laughing – Lily had realized what was wrong with Sirius that would make him think he was dying. All the other Marauders looked at her like she was mad, and Lily struggled to control herself.

"I think – haha – I'm experiencing side effects – hehehe – from the p-potion accident." She quickly covered for her strange behavior. "I'll go see Madam Pomfrey and -- hahaha – check on Ev-Evans for you J-James."

With that said she headed into the hospital wing.

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"And you didn't think it was _pertinent_ information to tell me it's _that _time of the_ **month**_?" Sirius demanded.

Lily burst out laughing again, this time with Madam Pomfrey, who had taught Sirius the basic charms every young witch learns to aid in the pain of growing from a girl into a woman.

They didn't stop for several minutes, until Lily suddenly stopped, looking stricken.

"What is it my dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked worriedly.

Lily looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "I have to go to the restroom."

"…"

It took many minutes to stop Sirius from rolling around on the floor, laughing so hard he was crying.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm sorry this took so long! On with the show!**

**Disclaimer: Do you Sirius-ly (ha-ha) think that I own the magical world of Harry Potter? No – it all belongs to J.K. Rowling. **

After sitting down with Madam Pomfrey and discussing the differences between boys and girls – which the two seemed to have forgotten – she left them to reluctantly discuss aspects of their lives that the other would need to know. By the time they got done it was nearly curfew.

They left the Hospital Wing and were headed towards Gryffindor Tower when Lily suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way, at dinner your friends were all talking about the full moon coming up in three nights. Do you know what that's all about?"

Sirius' eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Bloody hell!" he screeched (well, it would have been a regular yell if he was in his own body), "I forgot all about the full moon!" He stopped and screwed up his eyes, as if concentrating on something.

Nothing happened.

He opened his eyes again and looked disdainfully down at the body he was stuck in. "Okay, there's no time to explain now. Just remember when you talk to them that James is Prongs, Remus is Moony, Peter is Wormtail and I'm Padfoot. I'll need to meet with you tomorrow morning – make sure you're in the common room by six."

"Six **a.m.**? I'll have you know I am **not** a morning person," Lily protested.

"Too bad! I'll have to train you in two days – is that even possible? Doesn't matter, I refuse to let Moony down."

"What are you talking –"

"There's no time for that now," Sirius said glancing at the muggle watch Lily always wore, which he had a great deal of difficulty reading. "Look, I have to head to the common room, and you have to head to the Astronomy Tower."

"The Astronomy Tower? But it's almost curfew."

"Exactly! **You're** Sirius Black. And Sirius Black doesn't abide by the rules!"

Lily gave him a look, and Sirius calmed down a bit, pulling on the miniskirt nervously.

"Look, I'm not asking you to go snog a girl, just, you know, _look like_ you have. Go to the Astronomy Tower, muss my uniform a bit, and in about an hour, Remus will come by on his prefect rounds. Meet up with him and talk him into going down to the kitchens. Then you'll head back to the common room together."

"Okay. Um – where are the kitchens?"

Sirius regarded her for a moment, which was weird because it was like regarding himself, "You really need to get out more. I've got homework to do (he grimaced). Just let Moony lead the way, and when you get there ask him to do the honors. He'll take care of the rest."

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Lily was to be found 45 minutes later at the top of the Astronomy Tower. She had pulled and tugged at Sirius' sweater and shirt at random, unknotting his tie and undoing a few buttons. She also attempted to muss his hair, but the second she ran a hand through it in boredom; it fell back into place perfectly. She had given up and taken to admiring the view outside when she heard footsteps.

She glanced back and spotted her old friend. "Good evening Remus."

Remus paused mid-step before resuming his stride towards his best friend. "Good evening Sirius."

"How are you tonight?"

Remus seemed to ponder Lily for a long time before a mischievous glint sparked in his eyes, and he answered in a pretentious voice, "I'm quite spiffing this evening Mr. Padfoot. How was your rendezvous with the illustrious Heather? (He looked Lily up and down) I take it the lady enjoyed her evening as much as you did?"

Lily had never seen this side of Remus, and she couldn't help but smirk as she realized he was teasing her because she had been so formal. She grinned wider and leaned against the window, her full attention now on Remus.

"Quite," she answered. "And yet I find myself famished at the moment. Care to join me in a stroll to the kitchens, Mr. Moony?"

Remus laughed heartily, and gave a feeble protest about his rounds, which Lily quickly pushed aside, and the two set off to the kitchens. While in route they entertained each other with talk of their respective days (Lily carefully censoring hers so as not to give herself away). Lily had been allowing Remus to lead her by walking less then half a step behind him – not enough to be perceptible, but just enough to ensure she didn't suddenly veer off in the wrong direction.

They finally came to a stop at a picture of a giant bowl of fruit. Remus looked at Lily, as if waiting, and she remembered what Sirius had said. "Oh no, Mr. Moony, I insist you do the honors."

Remus laughed again and reached out to tickle the pear. It giggled and turned into a green doorknob, which Remus pulled and chuckled, "After you Mr. Padfoot."

Lily had to stifle a gasp; the room was huge! It had to be a large as the Great Hall, with four long tables that no doubt corresponded to the house tables above. A number of small house-elves came rushing forward.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, such an honor you have bestowed on us. Is there anything Missy can get for you sirs?" A little house-elf asked in a high squeaky voice.

Lily smiled down at the elf, which immediately blushed and said, "I will get sirs their usual and be right back." With that she scurried away, glancing back once at Lily.

"I told you she fancies you," Remus said beside her. Lily simply laughed and followed him to a table where they both sat and waited for their food.

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'_Gah'_ Sirius thought_. 'I haven't had to do homework in **years**! Being Evans sucks! Bleh. Well, at least I'm done now and it's only –' _He looked at the alarm clock by the bed_. '**One thirty in the morning!** How does Evans find the energy to finish all her homework! I guess I'll go to bed – gotta get up early and teach a new dog some old tricks.'_

As Sirius got ready for bed he thought back to when the other girls had come up and gone to bed, all wearing skimpy or near transparent nightclothes. He guessed there were _some_ advantages to being Lily Evans.

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Lily and Remus stumbled back into the common room around 2 a.m., having sweet-talked a couple of house-elves into joining them in a bizarre drinking game that involved a several bottles of firewhiskey (or butterbeer for the elves), a frying pan, a bunch of marshmallows, and a canary.

Lily didn't think she had ever been so wild and carefree in her life, or had so much to drink. And the whole thing had been Moony's idea! She had always thought he was this sweet and innocent boy who was occasionally corrupted by the other Marauders, but he had the most devious mind she'd ever encountered!

The two friends laughed and drunkenly shushed each other at the same time, trying to make their way up to the boys' dormitory. They had made it to the door when Moony suddenly said, "Damn, I lef' my bag in the common room."

"Don' worry Moony My Mate! (Lily laughed at the phrase) I'll get tha' for you."

"Thanksh Paddy, I owe you one." Remus smiled stupidly and flopped onto his bed, immediately falling asleep.

Lily struggled to get back down the stairs without breaking her neck, and made it as far as the couch beside where Remus had left his bag before she passed out cold.

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Someone was viciously poking Lily in the stomach, and she really didn't like it.

She tried to open her eyes, but the light shining off red hair was blinding and her head felt like it was in a vice. She winced in pain and rasped out, "What the hell are you poking me for?"

"Well, well Miss Priss, it seems that you had a good time last night with my pal Moony. Finally got to know the real Remus, from the looks of it." Sirius commented, surveying Lily's disheveled and clearly hung over state.

She sat up and stretched her aching body, before rubbing her eyes and regarding a clearly showered and neatly dressed Sirius.

"Wow, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were me," she rasped, clearly impressed, but her mouth and throat were so dry they felt like they were stuffed with cotton.

"Yeah, well, that's the point isn't it?" Sirius responded annoyed. "Look, I've decided to make an effort to be more like you since you're going to have to make one _hell_ of an effort to be me. And it's clear you've already started," he shot an irritated look at her, thinking of all the fun she'd had last night with Moony while he was trapped in the dorms.

"Here," he handed her a vial with a bright pink potion in it.

"What is it?" she managed to croak out.

"Hangover potion. Just hurry up and drink it, we need to get a move on."

Lily drank the potion quickly, which tasted vile, despite its cheery appearance.

"That potion kick in completely yet? Are you fully awake? Because I am about to share Marauder secrets and I refuse to repeat myself. Come on, let's get some privacy."

Lily shook her head to clear it, stood up and followed Sirius out of the common room.

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If you were to look into the abandoned classroom at the end of the Charms corridor, you would have seen Lily Evans pacing frantically while running her hands through her now disheveled hair while Sirius Black eyed her warily and occasionally sighed. The two occupants of the room, however, were currently shielded from prying eyes and ears by not only the timing of this nearly predawn meeting, but also by a rigorous set of locking and silencing charms placed on the room.

"Well, are you going to tell me why you dragged me out here at 6:30 in the morning or not? Because I could really use another two hours sleep and a shower," Lily stated tiredly.

It took about ten seconds to process what she had said as Sirius had stopped pacing and turned a lovely shade of red in the face.

"Oh my god! Sirius Black! You did not see my naked body!"

Sirius cringed under her glare, but soon regained his composure and simply stated, "Look Evans, it was that or let you run around dirty with oily hair all day! It's not like you've got anything I haven't seen before," Sirius said, while secretly repeating his thought that Prongs has great tastes. "I'm supposed to be you here – which would you prefer?"

"Fine, let's just get this meeting over with," Lily fumed, unable to punish Sirius for merely doing his part to try to pass as her.

"Okay….I can't _believe_ I'm actually going to tell **you** this…Okay…you probably ought to sit down for this…"

Lily simply crossed her arms and glared at Sirius.

"Fine, you're loss. James, Peter and I are…no….I better start at the beginning."

He paused and bit his nails, while Lily inwardly cringed over her quickly decimating manicure.

"You know how Remus disappears every month?"

"Yes, he gets ill or has very sick relatives. Seems the Lupins are a frail family."

"Yeah, about that. The only one who gets sick is Remus, and it's not really a disease, well, I guess it **_is_** a disease…."

"Will you get on with it?" Lily snapped.

"Okay! So Remus only disappears every 28 days. He gets pale and tired, and he comes back sometimes looking worse than when he left."

"Yes, I did notice that, although for the past couple of years he usually comes back looking fine, if a little tired," Lily sighed.

Sirius smiled, thinking of how much they had helped Moony stay safe over the past two years. "And you never noticed a pattern?"

Lily stopped and thought. One time a few months ago, before Remus had left, he had dropped by in the afternoon before he caught the Knight Bus home. He had asked Lily if he could borrow some notes when he returned. That night she had discovered the Marauders had pranked the Slytherins by putting sticking charms on the toilet seats, so that they were either trapped or had to run around with a toilet seat stuck to them until someone could undo the charm.

When she had gone back to Gryffindor Tower in search of the troublemakers, she couldn't find them, and they remained out of the Tower all night. She had fallen asleep staring out the window and heard them come in just after sunrise. They looked exhausted and had small cuts and scratches all over them, and Potter had been inspecting a rather large bruise in his side as they went upstairs to their dorms. They had been too tired to notice her, and she had been too shocked by their appearance to say anything.

And yet, two hours later, they were all sitting at breakfast, cheerily talking amongst themselves and not an injury in sight. If it hadn't been for their tired, puffy eyes and the fact that Potter winced when someone bumped him in the side with his bruise, she would have thought she had imagined seeing the three earlier that morning. When Remus returned that afternoon, his eyes lit up at the sight of his friends, and they in turn immediately became more active and excited that he was back. She had always wondered about that night….

"That night, a few months back when you all disappeared…. There was a full moon…"

Sirius waited patiently for her to comprehend it, hoping Moony would forgive him for sharing his secret with Evans. Her eyes widened in horror. _'There it is.'_ Sirius sighed, then rushed to defend Moony's honor.

"Look, I know you're thinking he's a monster or something, but he's not. He's the same Remus you've always known, he's just also happens to be a werewolf in addition to that. Dumbledore knows – all the professors know about his condition. On full moon nights, Madam Pomfrey leads him to the Whomping Willow. There's a secret passage under it that leads the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. That's how he's able to attend school."

He paused and let her absorb all this. After about five minutes, he broke her reverie by asking, "Do you hate him now? I mean, knowing what he is?"

Lily didn't hesitate. "Of course I don't hate him! Remus is a wonderful person, and it's like you said, if he just also happens to be a werewolf, that doesn't change the fact that I know him and know he's no monster."

Sirius smiled. "You know Evans, you're all right. I was afraid for a minute there – well, never mind that --"

"What were you afraid of Black?" Lily asked, partly curious, but with the nagging feeling that his answer would anger her.

"Well…. You just seemed quick to judge people sometimes." He jumped to finish before she could yell, "Clearly that is not the case here. I'm just telling you the impression I had previously held."

Lily was surprised that he had been so willing to change his opinion of her so quickly, and she began to wonder for the first time if she had misjudged Sirius Black. She had always thought he was an arrogant, conceited prat just like Potter, but he clearly cared for his friend and he was flexible enough to alter his opinions about someone he probably had considered an enemy. She decided she would have to think on this some more at a later time as Sirius clearly had more to say.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh my goodness! This chapter was like giving birth! It was arduous and painful, and I hope you like the result. It's not easy to set out to be funny in every chapter, and the struggle has given me a new respect for all the fanfiction authors out there who write such incredibly funny stories. You guys are insane! Anyway, here's the chapter – ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: How many times do I really need to say these characters don't belong to me, anyway? You know it already. **

"Okay, Black. I know now why Remus disappears, but what about you, Potter and Pettigrew?"

'_Ah, here comes the sticky part. Moony – you're doing this for Moony,' _Sirius thought. "Yeah, about that. You have to SWEAR you won't tell ANYONE – **EVER** – what I am about to tell you."

"Oh come **on** - "

"No Evans! Swear it! We're talking about serious business that could lead to life-destroying events if it got out!" Sirius cut her off.

Lily was shocked. Sirius Black being **serious**? She stifled a snigger at the tired pun, and promised she would never tell this or Remus' secret.

Sirius took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on Lily's. "James, Peter and I are illegal animagi."

Lily blinked.

Sirius blinked.

Lily blinked.

Sirius blinked and looked worried.

Lily blinked again and burst out laughing. "Yeah right! Good one Black!"

Sirius was instantly offended that she didn't think they could become animagi. _'Well, I'll just transform and prove it!'_ He concentrated. Nothing happened. _'Oh, yeah.'_

"Stop laughing! I'm totally sincere – WE – ARE -- ANIMAGI."

Lily stared at him dead in the eyes. There was a pause as she processed this new information. To Sirius it felt like an eternity: stars were born and died, galaxies formed and exploded, and still she did not move or speak.

"Erm…Evans?"

"ARE YOU INSANE!" she finally exploded.

Sirius always knew he'd be there when she spontaneously combusted – it looked like the moment had finally come.

Too bad she was in his body at the time. He would miss it.

She was breathing heavily and pacing back and forth, looking around the classroom as though someone would jump out and reveal this as a joke. She finally stepped up to within and inch of Sirius and said in a harsh whisper, "Are you three CRAZY? You could be expelled! Forget expelled, you could be sent to Azkaban for this! Do you know the punishment for failure to register your animagus form?"

"Yes! It's 10 years. That's kind of why it's a secret, Evans!" Sirius snapped at her.

"But then why on earth would you do it?"

"Why do you think? Werewolves can't harm animals with their bites. But they have been known to be less prone to self-violence when in the presence of other animals. We did it for Remus. We couldn't just sit back and watch him suffer in silence. He never complained, but the transformations are terrible on him, and when he's alone, he turns on himself, tearing and clawing and biting at his OWN body. We had to do it, don't you **see**?"

Lily felt thoroughly chastised. To think, the biggest pranksters in school made the decision to take such a risk to help a friend in need. And it wasn't any old favor – they risked their lives teaching themselves how to do the difficult transformation. Lily felt like her whole view of the world had suddenly been skewed beyond recognition.

"I'm sorry Sirius. I guess I never thought about you three doing something so dangerous and completely unselfish."

Sirius was never one to allow a conversation to take on such a serious tone if he could help it, and scoffed off her comments. "Well, it's not ENTIRELY unselfish, I mean, we get to turn into animals! You have no idea how cool that is."

Lily couldn't help but laugh. "Well, that's true, but what does all this have to do with me? I mean, it's not like **I** have to transfo…" Lily trailed off as the realization of exactly why Sirius had told her this set in.

**She** was Sirius Black.

And Sirius Black was an Animagus.

An animagus who ran around with a werewolf on full moon nights.

Like the one coming in two days time.

'_Bugger.'_

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Sirius spent the next 40 minutes quickly explaining the process of becoming an Animagus, and what the others had to do in order to accomplish it.

"I really don't think I can do this, Black," Lily stated with worry.

"I know it's going to be difficult, but think of it this way – my body already **knows** how to do this. We just need to get your mind wrapped around making that happen. You just have to understand how it works and then believe you can do it."

"Yes, but – "

"No, no buts. YOU – CAN – DO - THIS. And you WILL. Because we can't let anyone know who we really are, and I won't break Remus' heart, not to mention make it extremely difficult for James and Peter, by not showing up."

"Okay," Lily sighed, resigned, "What do I have to do?"

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By the time the two separated so as not to be seen going to breakfast together, Lily had a clear understanding of how the Animagus transformation worked. She had to admit, Sirius certainly had a firm grasp of Transfiguration, and he was determined to get her making the transformation during the full moon. The tricky part was yet to come. Plus, she still had a full day of classes today and tomorrow.

She sat at the Gryffindor table deep in thought and didn't notice when the others arrived.

"Hey, Paddy, what happened to you last night?" James asked.

"Fell asleep in the common room," Lily mumbled.

Remus nursed his cup of coffee, looking decidedly tired and pale. That could have been from a hangover or from the full moon approaching. He looked at Lily sheepishly and said, "Sorry about that Padfoot, I guess you weren't up for getting my bag, but thanks for leaving it by my bed this morning anyway. Along with that hangover potion."

Lily frowned internally, confused, but outwardly she simply grinned at Remus. It only took a moment to realize what Sirius did before waking her and said, "No problem mate. Can't break a Marauder promise now can I?"

Remus chuckled but agreed. He shifted his gaze towards James, and rolled his eyes when he saw the dreamy look on the Gryffindor Chaser's face. Lily looked at James. She followed his gaze down the table to where Sirius was chatting and laughing with her friends, looking very much the part of Lily Evans.

A loud clap brought her attention back to James. He was rubbing his hands together, and she could practically see the gears working in his mind as an apparent plan went through his it.

"Today's the day, lads. Today I get Evans to go out with me. There's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend, and she will be my date – just you watch."

The other Marauders looked at him and each other a moment, then burst out laughing.

"P-Prongs, the day you get Evans to go out with you is the day I get a girly-looking tattoo put on my bum!" Peter guffawed. Lily, who was sipping her pumpkin juice, snorted, and some came out her nose. The other Marauders laughed anew, and Lily was hard pressed to remember a time when she had so much fun, just plain silly fun, with her own friends.

When their laughter died down, James smirked and said, "Just you watch, just you watch."

Just then the post owls swooped in with the daily mail, and James' gaze swung up to observe a tawny owl that circled the Gryffindor table with a bouquet of red gerbera daisies before landing gracefully in front of Sirius and released the flowers from it's beak.

Lily watched in horror as her friends all squealed in delight and prodded Sirius to open the card. He looked at the friendly flowers in shock as he reached out for the card, a blush alighting his cheeks (_'No! My cheeks!'_ Lily thought in despair). She snuck a look at James, who was smiling smugly, and broke out into a wide smile when Sirius turned astonished eyes on him.

A single thought filled Lily's head with horror. _'Oh no! How is he going to turn Potter down? He hates to hurt his feelings!'_

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Sirius looked at James with wide eyes, only just now really realizing what it would mean to be Lily Evans. His cheeks unwillingly burned with the revelation that he was in the body of a pretty girl, and not just any pretty girl, but the girl his best mate had been after for **years**.

How was he going to do this? He snapped up Lily's book bag and the flowers and hurried out of the hall. He figured that if he avoided James at all costs, he could do this without hurting his friend too badly.

It wasn't until he turned a corner and saw James leaning against a wall that he remembered that Prongs and he knew every secret passage in the school and could (and did) use that to their advantage. James had cut across two hidden corridors to beat Sirius back to Gryffindor Tower, and he looked only slightly winded.

"Hello, Lily," James said smoothly, a gentle and disarming smile on his face.

"Oh! Hello James," Sirius replied automatically, then mentally winced at the triumphant grin on James' face at the redhead's use of his first name.

Sirius watched in dismay as his best friend reached up to run his hand through his messy hair, making it even more tumbled. _'Please don't ask me out. Please don't ask me out.'_ He thought frantically.

"I see you got the flowers I sent you."

Sirius, considering this only a temporary reprieve, tried to inconspicuously inch around James to escape. "Well…erm…yes I did. They're very nice. Thank you."

James produced another winning smile, "I figured you always get lilies because of your name, and daisies are such friendly, open flowers. Don't you think?"

"I – I suppose so. I hadn't really thought about it. It's certainly different than any of your other attempts to gain my attention."

James just laughed, "Yeah, I have been a bit of an arrogant arse in the past."

Sirius looked at James like he was seeing him for the first time. _'Is this really how he acts around her when they are alone? Why would she keep rejecting him – he's being so nice!'_

"So, listen Lily, I was wondering if you would be interested in accompanying me to Hogsmeade this weekend?" James asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.

Sirius took two steps back, stammering, "I – I – I have to get to Transfiguration." With that he turned and ran back down the corridor.

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Lily saw the guilty look on Sirius' face all throughout Transfiguration, as well as the slightly dejected but not entirely bereft expression on James' face. Sirius was looking anywhere but in their direction, while James' gaze remained fixed on the red head of hair.

'_This is not good. I don't know how long Sirius can keep this up.'_

Just then, James perked up. He spied the inkpot sitting by Sirius' hand and shot a spell at it. It instantly transformed into an adorable black puppy. Sirius' eyes fell upon it and he scooped up the puppy, unable to resist the kindred spirit as he nuzzled it to his face. James' face lit up like the Great Hall at the opening feast.

"Ms. Evans, what on Earth?" Professor McGonagall called to her student after smiling slightly at the adorable scene.

Sirius looked up at her with a wide smile, "I don't know Professor, I was just working on my assignment when suddenly this puppy appeared. I think," he looked about the desk, "my inkpot is gone!" The puppy yipped excitedly, drawing coos and 'aw's from the various girls in the class, while Sirius laughed and gently rubbed under the adorable dog's chin.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?" McGonagall looked to her best (and most mischievous) students. James and Lily painted their most innocent expressions on their faces. "No Professor," they both replied in unison.

McGonagall harrumphed, but was unable to punish them for disrupting her class. She couldn't prove it was them, after all. The spell used to cause that type of transfiguration was the same one the students had been practicing.

Just then the class ended, and McGonagall transfigured the dog back into an inkpot with a wave of her wand, much to the dismay of the fawning girls. Sirius shook his head and chuckled as he slipped the inkpot back in his bag and headed out of the classroom.

He was still marveling over the adorable puppy as he headed down the hall when suddenly James seemed to come out of nowhere. "Did you like my puppy, Lily?" he asked, eyes sparkling. Sirius blushed in surprise, and James took that as a good sign, and stepped closer. Sirius could see Lily over his shoulder, hovering nearby indecisively.

"Erm, y-yes, it was quite cute," Sirius stuttered.

A slow grin spread across James' face. "I could get you little gifts like that all the time Lily, if you would only go out with me?"

"Well, I – uh – I don't think I…" Sirius trailed off at the diminishing light in James' eyes. _'I can't do it. I can't break his heart! I have to get out of here!'_

Sirius glanced over James' other shoulder and said loudly, "What do you want, Snape?"

James whirled around, expecting to see his nemesis. Instead he only saw Peter, with Remus and Sirius (really Lily) on the other side of the corridor, but by the time they all looked back, his favorite Prefect was gone. Lily breathed a sigh of relief, but James just got a more determined look in his eye. "This isn't over boys, she WILL say yes to me today. I can feel it."

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Unfortunately for Lily, she had no other classes with James or Sirius that day, and with them apparently playing an intricate game of cat and mouse, she didn't see them again until after dinner. Lily was lounging in the common room when Sirius came through the door, deep in thought. He glanced at Lily and his eyes widened, before he dashed up the stairs to the girls dormitories, where she couldn't follow. Lily only had to wait a moment to find out what had happened. James strode into the common room and flopped gracelessly beside Lily. He had a silly, exuberant grin on his face. Remus and Peter saw his look and came over.

"Sooo…?" prompted Remus.

James smile was so wide he might have cracked his jaw. He leaned in, waving his friends into a sort of huddle. "I. Have. A. Date," he whispered, before shouting out loud, "With Lily Evans!" James laughed raucously while everyone else in hearing range dropped their jaws.

"WHAT!"


End file.
